After '16 was defined by football media rights deals, cricket took the stage in ’17. Star India made a multi-billion dollar deal for the rights to the Indian Premier League and Sony Pictures Network India grabbed the Cricket Australia broadcast rights, allowing it to show the Ashes Series. Streaming platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Amazon made headlines with bids for major sports rights and signed deals with football clubs. With the rights to the Premier League up for grabs again next year, Sky and BT struck a content-sharing deal that could impact their bids for the world’s most-watched league. Esports continued to show that it is not going away, generating $209M in Europe alone.
CRICKET'S TIME: Star India paid a record $2.6B for the rights to the IPL for the next five years. The broadcaster is a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox, which was recently bought by Disney. Those deals give Disney new advantages in India. The $2.6B deal works out to around $8.4M per match, which comes in just behind the Premier League’s per-match amount of $9.3M. Sony Pictures Network lost the IPL bid, but managed to grab the Cricket Australia broadcast rights for the Indian sub-continent for the next six years. SPN will show the Ashes Series as well as multiple Indian, Pakistani and South African tours in Australia. SPN also acquired Australia’s highly-acclaimed Big Bash League and Women’s BBL rights.
TECH INFLUENCE: Facebook put up a $600M bid for the digital rights to the IPL, but was outbid by Star India. Facebook’s offer highlighted the company’s efforts to push into video. Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser said, “(Facebook’s bid) is still significant because it’s such a large amount of money in a market that’s still nascent. It clarifies that they intend to be a real player in traditional premium video content.” Twitter was also active in sports media, with a push in Asia-Pacific, a region it entered in the middle of ’17. Twitter partnered with the NBA to show games in the Philippines and is working with the league to create a show for India. The platform is also in talks with existing World Cup and Olympics broadcasters to explore options on content sharing. Amazon got into sports through deals with the ATP to show the ATP World Tour in the U.K., Ireland and the U.S. The e-commerce giant also struck a deal to produce a behind-the-scenes series following Man City and its coach, Pep Guardiola. Similar to the Man City project, Juventus partnered with Netflix to produce a documentary series, expected to be available in ’18.
EPL TENDER ON THE HORIZON: BT and Sky struck a content-sharing deal this year which analysts believe could affect the scale of bidding when the Premier League TV rights auction begins in February. The deal means BT and Sky customers have access to all EPL matches without being forced to choose between the two. That option has led analysts to believe that the rampant inflation in recent bidding for rights could recede next year. However, the league is seeking an increase on the current $6.8B TV deal. Tech companies such as Amazon, Facebook and Twitter are all expected to consider making an offer for the rights.
ESPORTS ARE FOR REAL: Esports are here to stay, and sponsors are getting on board to capitalize. The European esports market generated $209M in '17 from media rights, sponsorships, merchandising and event tickets, according to a Newzoo whitepaper. Globally, the market generated $660M in revenue. The IOC is considering adding esports as an official event. With more mainstream companies getting into the market, it is safe to say esports are not going anywhere soon.
